They are literally bereft - torn apart and desperately sad. Russia and Ukraine, in gymnastics at least, were always the best of friends. Despite the horrors of the Holodomor, the famine forced on Ukraine by the USSR which claimed the lives of an estimated 3.9 million people, relations between our gymnasts were always observably warm. If you ever saw a victory podium shared by the two, you would know this to be the truth. Fierce competition, respect and friendship. Everything was as it should be.
Russia and Ukraine shared their gymnastics bounty. Nikolai (Mykola) Kuksenkov, Ukraine-born but with Russian family roots, competed for both countries and now coaches the Russian women. His father, Yuliy, coaches the men. Doubtless there are many gymnasts and coaches whose family lines cross the borders of Russia and Ukraine. So much of Russia is this way. Perhaps it is what gives Ukraine so much of its ferocity in defending its motherland. It feels betrayed by its brother, its sister. Or something stronger motivates them; the need to continue to love and to be friends with their neighbours.
Russian Head Coach, Andrei Rodionenko, is Ukrainian by birth. He has worked in both Australia and in Canada. His daughter is married to Viacheslav Fetisov, former ice hockey player who now sits in the Russian state Duma and is a former Sports Minister.
I could list probably hundreds of names of Ukrainian gymnasts who stood alongside, trained and competed with Russians when they were part of the USSR together. 1972 Olympic champion Ludmilla Tourischeva, Russia born, married Ukrainian athlete Valery Borzov and raised a daughter with him in Kiev. They are in Kiev today. 1980 Olympic team champion with the USSR, Stella Zakharova, still lives and coaches in Kiev and has significant political influence on the sport in Ukraine. Stella has an account on Facebook and is urging her compatriots to resist the Russian charge.
Also Kiev based, 1985 World Champion Oksana Omelianchik works as a choreographer and is a high ranking international judge. Her daughter is a well known actress in Ukraine. Vladimir Zaglada, born in Lviv, coached on the USSR WAG team in the 1970s and was a head coach at the Dynamo Club in Moscow during the 1990s.
Following the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, the first Ukrainian gymnastics gold Olympics medals were Tatiana Gutsu’s in the AA, Tatiana Lyssenko’s on beam, and Rustam Sharipov’s on parallel bars in Barcelona. Days before, they had won gold as part of the last hoorah of the USSR team - more accurately known as the Commonwealth of Independent States for that Games. These Ukrainian gymnasts competed alongside gymnasts from Belarus, Azerbaijan, Russia, Uzbekistan. In total there were five Ukrainian gymnasts out of twelve competing at these games. The coaches, too, came from across the various Republics, including Oleg Ostapenko who worked at a national level for both Russia and Ukraine through all the years of change and upheaval. Many of the gymnasts now live and work in Canada and the USA - for example Lysenko, Kalinina, Gutsu, Kut. They all quite probably have family and friends at home in Ukraine and Russia. They are friends with Russians - this is a heartbreaking situation for all, tantamount to a bitter civil war in many ways.
If you subscribe to Instagram, you will be able to find the accounts of Ukrainian gymnasts such as Oleg Verniaiev (Verniaiev13) and Igor Radivilov (iradivilov). Oleg, one of the leading gymnasts in the world for much of the 2010s, whose life began in the Donbas region and who trained there for many years, moved to Kiev years ago to be able to train in peace and safety. He is posting video of the nighttime raid on his home. Igor’s home town is Mariopol, a strategically important town in Ukraine’s south east. Russian troops are currently circling Mariopol. Igor has posted a video requesting the support of Belarus in not deploying its troops in Ukraine.
Igor is listed to compete at the Doha Cup this week. If he is not there already, I doubt he will be able to travel there - and he may not wish to leave his family alone in such difficult circumstances.
The Russian gymnasts - Listunova, Urazova, Minaeva, have now arrived in Doha and are preparing to compete. They are at most 17 years old. I wish them well. Ukraine’s gymnasts have just competed at the Cottbus Cup in Germany where their leading all around man, Ilia Kovtun, took a gold medal on the parallel bars. Daniela Batrona, who has just turned senior, also won a gold on beam. Congratulations to all their athletes for continuing to compete under such difficult circumstances. Heaven only knows when they will be able to go home and be with their families again.
The Soviet Union’s soft policy of influencing international opinion through sport, continued by Putin in recent years, was cynical at policy level. But, day to day, people are people and quite naturally love, peace and friendship will always find its way.
Let us pray or reflect on peace for our friends in Ukraine and condemn the actions of Vladimir Putin, a cruel and arrogant man. Russia, we know this war is not in the name of your people. I ask you to rise up against your President to stop these aggressions. Belarus, remain neutral and do not send your troops into Ukraine. Ukraine, we support you in your incredible bravery and persistence in resisting the advance of evil.
I don’t know when it happened, but somehow you seem to have advanced into democracy more quickly than your big brother, Russia. I should have seen this in the many Ukrainian students I taught at University over the past twenty years. So hardworking, so loving of their families, so open and friendly. Let Russia follow your example.